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| - FINALMENTE!!!
Andiamo....
FOOD
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Appetizer: Fritto Misto, which is a trio of fried appetizers. For the day, ours included a cheese, a stuffed olive, and whole leaves of broccolini. The cheese wedge was great (I wish I remembered what it was), and have you ever had a deep fried veal-stuffed olive? Very interesting. The flash-fried broccolini took a little getting used to, since the leaves kept crumbling as I was trying to eat them, but still tasty, if subtle.
Main: Orecchiette alla Puttanesca. Man. This is the real deal. Orecchiette is the "little ear" pasta and "alla puttanesca" means it's made "whore style".
And what a beautiful, classy, yet very vibrant whore she is.
The pasta was cooked just perfectly, and even though puttanesca sauce usually goes with a stringier pasta (spaghetti, linguini, etc.) it worked really well with the orecchiette.
And the sauce. Holy mother, this streetwalkin' hussy of a sauce with its 12 ingredients: capers, breadcrumbs, anchovy sauce, garlic, olives, basil, olive oil, and, uh, the other 5. The flavors were a perfect, clear-heeled harmony. Nothing overpowered the other. Subtle and humble home food. It really tasted just like something my Italian friends' mothers would cook in their kitchen.
As for the servings, when I first got my bowl I was thinking, "oh ok, this is a European serving. I'm still going to be starving after this." And, um, nope. Why? Because I slowed down. I savored my meal, and took my time with the dish. And by the end, was I hungry? Not at all. I really enjoyed this meal. And the serving was just right. Complimentary packs of long breadsticks are also found on each table.
SERVICE
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Very friendly, efficient, and willing to go through the menu in detail and answer any more questions about the restaurant. Dishes were brought out in a timely manner and there was never any rush after the meal was completed to clear the table.
And the mood inside Pastabar was palpable. Everyone looked happy, excited, and relieved that the restaurant was finally open for business. And I felt the same for them.
SETTING
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I would say the space was just the right size. Not a cavernous place in the least. Probably the same size as Sens, maybe even a little smaller. It's tucked away in the very back of the hallway of the building, so much so that I completely missed it when I was IN THE HALLWAY the previous afternoon looking for it. But I like it a little hidden off, actually.
The colors inside are warm, with a modern bistro feel. No windows looking outside but I didn't mind that. There is seating at the bar, a few two-tops up front, and larger tables in the back. Selections from different Shins albums made up the soundtrack throughout the dinner, and while the music sounds like it could be incongruous with a bunch of little ears cooked whore-style, it worked.
I definitely don't think this is going to be as "scene-y" as Sens. It has a completely different vibe.
EXTRA CRIB NOTES
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* the main courses of Pastabar are pasta and ONLY pasta. No veal parm here. And no hoikey sauces like Olive Garden-y alfredo or a jar of sugary Prego.
* It's great
* Prices for antipasti range from $7-$11-ish and mains $11-ish to $18. I spent around $26 with tax and a nice tip.
* it's great
* No liquor license (yet). For now, sparkling waters, lemonades, a number of sodas (including root beer & cream soda).
* it's great
* complimentary valet awaits the diners, if you're averse to parking close by yourself.
* it's great
* It's open till midnight on weeknights and 2 am on weekends! What more could you ask for?
* did I tell you it's great?
ALL IN ALL
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An awesome asset to the area and I'm very content. And as much as I loved my whoreish little ears, all the other pastas on the menu sounded incredible and I can't wait to try them all.
I'm wishing these guys much success and giving them gratitude to finally being open. A few minor kinks to be worked out (and I wasn't as into the appetizer as I was my entree) so it's not totally perfect but they have started out very strong, and it's only Day 2.
And here I was thinking my days of giving out 5 stars were over (ok, more like 4.55 and rounding up)...
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